Kurama
by chatnoir-chan
Summary: An spin off from my story Golden Kitsune. Takes place before the events of the story and is a summary of some of his thoughts, feelings, and experiences.


**Kurama**

 **~ooOoo~**

The child slowly crept out from the alley. He had just finished placing a piece of cardboard over a small niche to hide his brothers. The red head knew he needed to do something and needed to do it fast. Living on the streets was no easy task even with the money they had saved up. They were dirty, cold, and losing weight rapidly and their open wounds were at constant risk of infection, not to mention the fact that Naruto was sick. Kurama felt his stomach clench painfully at the memory of his small brother, his precious Kit huddled in Iruka's arms, face flushed with fever as he waved his goodbyes weakly with his sunshine locks damp and sticking to his forehead while the brunet gazed at him with tired eyes and hollow cheeks as he rubbed the wound healing across his nose. It was not to be tolerated. He had promised to protect them.

The red head nodded confidently to himself. Kurama could still remember what it had been like to feel the baby kicking in his Mother's stomach giggling along with Iruka at the thumps while swearing he would be the best big brother in the world. Now it was time to fulfil that promise by all means necessary. The child maneuvered through the crowded streets ignoring the lingering leers from the old men prowling the area. He knew he would be able to get money from them but he had more self-respect then to give his body over to a bunch of pedophiles, especially when he had spent the last few years planning to run away from an extremely vicious one. Settling himself in the mouth of an alley near a bar the young child waited; the drunks that stumbled out at all hours were always easy target for his pickpocketing. Arms crossed the amethyst eyed boy waited patiently scoring a few times before returning to his post with a frown; it wasn't enough the idiots kept spending all their money on drinks.

Something caught his eyes. An elegant woman, petite and slender with shoulder length brown hair shadowed by two men in black suits with close cropped hair moving swiftly with confident strides. In this part of town it could only mean she was a yakuza of some sort or maybe a simple mob princess enjoying the pleasures that her family's dirty money brought. Her high heels clicked almost periodically against the pavement and as she passed Kurama couldn't help but try to slip out the man's wallet that was closest to him. They were more likely to keep the cash he needed actually on their person. The red head's hands were quick and light and he had no problem slipping the wallet out of the man's back pocket before melting back into the shadows the alley provided. Wasting no time he flicked through the bills, immensely pleased with the ridiculous amount and skipped further into the dark thinking of only buying some food and new clothes for himself and his brothers when he was yanked harshly back by the neck of his sweater.

He turned quickly using his arm to break the hold on him and crouching in a position ready for either fight or flight. Kurama growled at the two humongous men now blocking his path, one looking extremely irritated while fingering his empty pocket while the woman watched with amusement from behind them. The red head couldn't help but smirk mockingly at the man he stole from as he rose himself confidently up from his defensive stance and gazed at them with narrowed eyes.

"Oh, come one it's not like you can't make more money. Let it go." The small child said tilting his chin arrogantly while slowly moving back as to not attract their attention. Already planning how he would escape.

"I need this...So I'll just be going now." He continued pleasantly before jumping forward with a strong kick to the man's chest moving his other foot to stomp on his face. Kurama laughed maniacally at the stunned expression on his opponent's face. They had expected him to run further into the alley but everyone knew that was a dead end. The only away out was through them and he was getting out. The man crumpled beneath him, completely knocked out and the red head crouched on top of him ready to spring forward at the other man currently pulling out a knife. Dodging the man's angry swing by leaning forward the amethyst eyed child kicked his attacker's knee and was rewarded with a resounding pop that left a smug smirk on his face.

Now goon number two , who was currently clutching his knee while wailing in pain, did a very stupid thing...he dropped his blade giving Kurama the chance he needed. It was a short reach before it was in his small palm and only a moment before it was against the man's throat.

"Cease your pathetic cries. They are beginning to grate on my nerves." The red head growled irritably as the older man's voice trailed off with a squeak. Once he had become silent Kurama punched him straight in the face, knocking him out. Rising to his full height (which wasn't very tall) he faced the woman who had only watched everything with a small grin. The red head slowly twirled the knife in his fingers as he began to saunter past the men at his feet after grabbing the other man's wallet and past the strangely calm woman.

She stopped him with a light touch of her manicured fingers on his shoulder and the only reason he didn't stop her was because there was nothing threatening in the gesture. Kurama glanced at her with a raised brow and she smiled brightly back at him.

"How would you feel about working for me?"

 **oOo**

Kurama smiled at his younger brother who had just finished fixing his hair for him like he did every morning before school. Running his finger through the pony tail he stood up while giving the tiny blond a quick hug and tight squeeze with a muttered 'thanks' as he walked the short distance to kitchen where Iruka was making their lunches. The red head was pleased with how they were living now but he wanted more for his brothers. They lived in a small apartment with three bedrooms in a good neighborhood near the very prestigious private school that included elementary, middle school, and high school so he never had to worry about Naruto being too far which was a far cry from the dirty alleys and abandoned and crumbling buildings they used to hide in waiting for dawn. Not to mention the fact they had left Tokyo completely to live in Kyoto, which the sixteen year old enjoyed but he also missed the city and he knew without a doubt that his younger brothers also missed living in their home town.

After school he walked his brothers home, smiling at their stories of their day, growling when they mentioned anyone who bothered them before regretfully telling them he would not be home for dinner. Naruto of course pouted and gave him the usual puppy dog eyes that melted the amethyst eyed teen's frigid heart but he remained firm and a few hours later he was back on the darkening streets in dark jeans, doc martins, a sweater and blood red scarf.

The red head ended up at a very large Victorian styled mansion, sticking out like a sore thumb in the traditional Japanese city. He confidently strolled down the halls ignoring the fearful and angry looks he was given by all the old men in their typical black suits. Oh he could understand their jealously and their evasive attitude towards him. Kurama had been only thirteen when he had joined the gang and become the leading Lady's personal guard and grave digger, although he never did the disposals himself just the merciless killing; he had no desires to dig pits, burn, or sink the bodies afterward. The amethyst eyed teen had earned their respect early on and he really did regret how this involved beating the living daylights out of the men who had gotten too cocky and disrespectful when speaking with him, but at least they all now knew to choose their words wisely when around him.

And it wasn't like he was totally merciless because of his new job...no he only killed who he knew were completely evil after some research and those who reminded him of his family's tormenter; the Lady allowed it simply because she favoured him and enjoyed indulging him. She had actually planned to give him a house but he had insisted on an apartment he would be able to actually afford once the red head started to get paid an actual wage. Kurama entered a lavish bedroom with a small frown, this was the first time he had been told to see her rather than being left to just so his job and he watched her enter from behind a dressing screen dressed in a dark green velvet bustier and black lace underwear with silk thigh highs and dark purple heels that matched her lipstick. She smiled widely at him as opened her arms and strode forward to embrace him tightly with a brush of her lips on his cheek. It took all of teen's will power not to recoil and he simply waited for her to finish with her pleasantries.

"Oh, darling I simply must say you look ravishing today, completely dashing." The older woman purred as she looked him up and down with hungry eyes. The yakuza lady finished her appraisal with a soft sigh before she sashayed to her vanity picking up a black skirt that simply wrapped around her hips and buttoned at one side leaving a very large and revealing slit on her left leg. She admired herself happily while fixing her dark brown hair into an elegant bun.

"Lady Rin you are too kind. I must admit you are looking pretty...ravishing yourself." The red head replied with a suggestive smile, knowing those were the words she wanted to hear and of course the woman preened her dull eyes lighting up with pleasure.

"Now enough of that, my precious little Red" Kurama gritted his teeth hating hearing that nickname from the woman. He only allowed his brothers to use it and they hardly ever did because they knew he disliked it greatly.

"Now, you are most likely wondering what I wanted with you today..." She continued while lighting up a slender clover cigarette when her zippo lighter engraved with her family crest. "Recently someone has been making me angry and not making up for it when I gave them their chances. I called you directly to me rather than giving you the usual message because I want you to deal with him by the end of the night and not your usual few days."

The red head raised a brow, he didn't like the sound of any of this but he simply said, "I can't guarantee the quality of my work then."

Rin waved her hand holding her smoke dismissively, "Doesn't have to be as unique as usual with your big statements but take a few men to help you with the cleanup."

The teen shrugged lazily as he watched her with hooded eyes, hoping to not incite a negative response, "This will be my last job. I plan to leave Kyoto soon."

The brunette woman frowned unhappily but merely sighed and pouted childishly, "Oh! I knew you would want to leave me but I wasn't expecting it so soon. Fine, I did promise you that you would able to cut ties whenever you wanted to...I'll even pay you triple the usual amount as a goodbye gift."

Kurama smiled in satisfaction, "Sounds good to me." He left the bedroom with a confident swagger. The red head had begun to miss eating with his family at night.

ooo-2 hours later

The red head slowly pulled off his bloodied gloves before throwing them into the roaring marble fire place. A large (and by this he meant obese) dead man lay at his feet, head cracked open with blood and other matter spilling onto the clean floors and expression still frozen in horror. He lightly touched his cheeks and pulled back his fingers to spy the cooling blood covering them. Kurama grimaced and held out his hand and waited for one of the men accompanying him to hand him a handkerchief. Once he had received it he quickly cleaned off his face with a frown.

"I trust you two will be fine on your own?" The red head mocked the men with him sadistically and laughed when they glared. "Don't be angry. I'll be leaving after this."

"My last job!" The amethyst eyed teen sang happily as he sauntered out of the room and finally out of the house. The rich fuck he had just beaten to death with a candlestick was responsible for human trafficking of children all over the world. The teen had had no trouble with killing him, he would even admit to enjoying it.

As the red head admired all the nice houses he passed he arrived at a park that he could faintly recall seeing on the way there. He wandered over and noticed a teen sitting alone on a swing that looked to be either his age or a little older then him. What interested Kurama were the three teens lying unconscious near him and the other boy's bloody knuckles and small specks of ruby on his milky pale face. The other teen looked up with the most beautiful sea foam green eyes and the kanji for 'Love' tattooed on the left side of his forehead and his hair was a very dark red almost like dried blood. The amethyst eyed teen gave the other boy a small smile.

"So...It looks like you had a little fun. Shouldn't you be at home, boy?"

The light green eyed teen glared at him viciously and turned away. Kurama shrugged and crouched to take a look at the fallen men. They were well built and tall and looked like they were from some well-to-do cookie cutter family. He took another glance at the teen; pale skin, eyes that looked like they were rimmed thickly in black kohl but he could tell some of it was dark from lack of sleep, and wearing all black clothing. Yep, someone the guys currently knocked out would have a problem with.

"These idiots start some shit with you?" The red head said not at all bothered about being ignored. Standing up slowly he nudged one of the bodies lazily with his foot, "You must be pretty good to take them all by your lonesome."

The boy snorted, "Not at all. They were shit fighters."

"Hmm...So are you any good at fighting?" Kurama mused out loud while sticking his hands in his pockets.

"Better than 'good'." The other red head said simply.

"How would you feel about working with me...?" The amethyst eyed asked before trailing off when he realized he didn't know the other teen's name.

"Gaara...My name is Gaara and what kind of job are you offering?" The teen turned his head slightly in Kurama's direction, showing the slightest hint of interest.

"Gaara...Nice name. I'm Kurama." The red head introduced himself confidently. "And what I'm offering is something like a mercenary job. I plan to start a little team with about...oh, something like nine members."

"I want an advance then. And it will be big." The green eyed teen said with narrowed eyes waiting for something to be wary of.

Kurama nodded, "No problem. But, purely out of interest what would you do with the money? You can't possibly be hurting if this is where you live."

"No," Gaara said as he stood up from the swing, "But I want to leave home and start my own business. My father keeps trying to pressure me into becoming a fake, asshole politician like him."

"Ambitious?" The red head purred sauntering forward, "I like it. Give me your cell phone; I'll give you my number so we can discuss details later. It's getting late and I have to get home."

The green eyed teen handed over his device over so he could key his number in but his eyes were suddenly filled with doubt. "Are your parents expecting you home soon?"

The red head smiled at the other teen handing him back his phone. It was obvious that he was wondering how he could say he was staring a little band of guns for hire and then express the need to get home because of the lateness of hour.

"Oh no...Not parents. I have two little brothers waiting for me." Kurama chirped his amethyst eyes sparkling. "See ya later, Gaara."

Giving the other teen a nod and small wave that wasn't returned the red head turned on his heel to finally head home.

 **oOo**

Now at the tender age of eighteen with a flourishing and dark business after two years of operation, Karama was still not satisfied. To avoid involving his innocent brothers in his work he had moved all the way to Australia and he missed them terribly. He kept a photo album of them always close by but it still wasn't enough. The red head had never noticed how much he relied on his Kit and Ruka for company, happiness and most of all support. This was funny because he had always thought that they needed him as a pillar when it was the other way around. But only after two months and he was completely unable to function and undeniably depressed.

The amethyst eyed teen smiled when he felt a distinctive presence behind him. "Shukaku...Nice to see you."

Turning slowly Kurama smirked at the other teen, who after their first conversation he found that Gaara was a year older then him. It turns out that everyone on his team was older than him which amused him to a certain extent because he honestly didn't expect them to agree to following him and most didn't in the beginning. It had taken _heavy_ persuasion for some. The light green eyed teen had been the only one to agree immediately and even that might be because of the couple million yen he gave the teen that had been the funding to start his luxury vehicle company. Which were a huge success and the red head would admit to indulging in a few himself but he only drove them occasionally and it was sort of selfish hobby on his part.

"Kyuubi." Was all Gaara said with a small nod before offering him a cigarette. The red head declined with a wave of his hand.

"You ready, Racoon." Kurama chirped as he jumped down from the crate he had been resting on. "How was your trip by the way? All the way from good ole' Japan."

Subaku only glanced at him before shrugging carelessly, "Comfortable."

Kurama snorted, "I would hope so. You came on your own private jet." The older red head only smirked smugly back in response as he lit a cigarette for himself.

They walked along the docks shifting like shadows among the crates, piles of rope, and waste. The moon was the only thing that shone in the pitch black sky but even that wasn't enough light to illuminate their presence.

"Hey Kyu...Who's our target?" Gaara rasped as they approached a yacht like boat with sparkling lights and bubbling laughter. The rich socialites partied happily while they watched from the dark dock. Kurama pointed a slender finger at the delusional crowd.

"Every single one of those pieces of scum." He chuckled happily as he unsheathed his katana and pulled out his handy dagger. The red head slid the sharp edge of the blade against his tongue with a completely wicked grin. The green eyed teen laughed darkly along with him as he pulled out his own choice of weapons, a set of beautifully rounded blades that curved over his knuckle while attached to bone white handles engraved with blue veins.

They moved like shadows and soon they found themselves among the rich monsters aboard the ship. They were given curious looks and the blatant lust and want in some of the greedy gazes made him physically sick and rather blood thirsty. Gaara seemed to share his feelings and was glaring rather menacingly at everyone around him. The red gave him a hard look. He understood the older man's eagerness but they had to wait for the signal. The other red head nodded in understanding and the violence in his light green eyes faded somewhat but the aura he gave off was still threatening enough that no one dared to approach them.

It was like magic when the first person fell to the floor dead with a blond women stood laughing next to his corpse with a slender blade dripping with blood. It was a moment of complete silence before all hell broke loose. The mass of the crowd roared with screams and fear and then they ran directly into the two red heads' waiting arms. They cut through them like wheat; the only challenges presenting themselves in the form of an occasional bodyguard or two and even these men fell too easily to _really_ be called a challenge. Some of the smart ones began to realize that if they wanted off the ship then it would have to be overboard and began running to the rails to jump. Only they found themselves stopped by a young tanned woman with light green hair on one side and a man with dark hair blowing bubbles on the other.

Kurama began to lose himself in the bloodlust. Entrails and blood littered the deck and only experience, practice, and his natural balance kept him from slipping. The faces blurred together but he didn't care he only wanted to relish the feel of katana ripping through soft flesh and the blood soaking his hand when he thrust his dagger into a faceless person's vulnerable gut. It became an almost easy pattern of slicing, then thrusting, or both at the same time. The red head had to contain his bubbling laughter as the hot liquid; the life of his victims splashed across his face and soaked his hair. In the end he let out his joy when he heard Gaara's raspy chuckle.

It didn't take long really. The yacht that had once held one of the most decadent parties of the year now lay in shambles. The deck was painted red with the blood and organs of the dead men and woman. Limbs lay scattered in between the corpses and all the party goers gold, silver, diamonds, and precious gems glittered almost mockingly against their cooling skin.

Kurama found it morbidly beautiful and was transfixed by the sight of the sea of blood flooding the deck and blinked when he felt soft hands on his jaw turning his face to meet solemn sea foam green eyes. They drew him from his memories of similar scenes occurring in a dank basement and rooting him in the present. The rest of the team had already left and it was just him and Gaara standing amongst the cold bodies.

This man was really the only person Kurama could say he truly loved aside from his brothers. He was the one who kept him sane when he was so far away from the only people he cared about and offered friendship and kindness in subtle ways but expressed the depth and sincerity of the raccoon eyed man's feelings.

Just what he needed when he felt so very lonely.

 **oOo**

Gaara had left for Japan and the red head was bored. He mostly just sat around his spacious office approving missions for his ever growing empire (although the original nine remained to be the only ones he would personally work with) hardly ever going out into the field anymore. The memory of blood hitting his face in small splashes and the feeling of soft flesh tearing under the weight of his blade felt dim and distant. The amethyst eyed man was also dealing with loneliness and longing for his family that threatened to consume him every passing second leaving such a hollow and painful feeling that ate at his will to live every day.

And as Kurama gazed out towards the beautiful view and dipping skyline he entertained thoughts of going home.

 _ **The End**_


End file.
